Tag Archives: power of now

Presence and Technology

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Presence, to me, is being fully in this moment of now. In addition to being able to fully enjoy each moment, presence also heightens our creativity because all creativity happens in the moment of now.

There is a famous storyline from comedian Jerry Seinfeld where he says it’s his observation that wherever we are we want to be somewhere else. He speaks of how when we’re home we want to go out, and when we’re out we feel like we need to be getting back home. Of course, he is exaggerating for laughs, but it’s funny because of the bit of truth in it.

Technology is essentially neutral in its impact on presence. It is our relationship to technology, how we interact with it, that determines whether it will facilitate more presence or whether it takes away from our experience of presence.

I observed at a recent Olympics opening ceremony where, as the representatives from each country were entering the arena, many were videoing or snapping photos of themselves, the audience, and the setting while also participating in the event. It was rather surreal to me. Were they fully present to the experience of this momentous occasion and their participation in it, or were they more focused on trying to post it to social media? The answer would be different for each person.

I personally love social media and am quite active in this modality. I do reflect on whether we have fully learned how to get the most effective use of such media. In the simplest terms, I would say, if it takes our attention away from the present moment it is not optimally effective and if it brings us into greater presence we have mastered its use.

Here are a few of my insights and practices regarding presence and technology:

  • If I’m out to dinner with friends, unless I’m expecting an urgent communication about an important matter, I put my smartphone aside and don’t respond to it. An exception to this would be using Facetime or Skype to include others in the present moment.
  • If I’m taking a walk, I similarly put the technology aside, including texting and even my music player. There’s a lot going on right here in front of me in this present moment. I want to take it all in, including what’s happening within me – my breath, the beat of my heart, and how I’m feeling as I experience this moment.
  • With balance, using a web search engine during a conversation can add life and new information to a conversation, creating greater vibrancy in this now moment. Compulsive searching can take us away from the person right in front of us.
  • Social media, in general, have the power to connect us to more people in more places than ever before. This has been of much benefit to our planet, allowing us to experience our oneness with people across the world in unprecedented ways. This media also has the possibility of disconnecting us from the very people in our immediate proximity if not used in balance.

I don’t see the above as a fixed and rigid set of rules. In fact, as I read over my own list I realize that there are times when I don’t align with some of the items. However, as intentions and insights they allow me to have a conscious, healthy relationship with technology, making choices that create the greatest opportunity for presence in the moment of now.

It is not technology itself that keeps us from being present. Rather, it is our relationship with technology. The invitation this day is to explore your relationship with technology. If you’re a technophobe, perhaps softening your stance on technology could open a greater world for you. If you are highly attached to technology, maybe there is a healthier and more balanced way for you to be with technology.

Enjoy the journey.

The Power of Right Now

by Gregory Toole

On the spiritual journey we learn the spiritual truth that now, or the present moment, is all we really have. Yesterday is gone, just a memory, and the future hasn’t yet arrived. When the future arrives we will still experience it in the present moment. Ernest Holmes, founder of the Science of Mind philosophy, wrote that principle is not bound by precedent, meaning that the spiritual principles that allow us to manifest the life we want are not dependent on what we have or haven’t been or had in the past.

This moment of right now is where our infinite possibilities lay. It is this moment where we are creating and experiencing life. In his book The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle writes, “I have little use for the past and rarely think about it.” Many do dwell in the past, and in doing so often keep recreating the past, or at least are unable to fully enjoy life. Memories can be fun, but what about all the life there is to experience right now?

In tennis, it is said that the best players have a short memory. Because the game happens so quickly, to be successful one has to be fully present to the moment of now. The last point is done, whether we hit a great shot and won the point, or if we hit a wayward shot and lost the point. It is done and truly has no bearing on the next point, unless we are still dwelling on the last point. Whether the last shot was the best or the worst we ever hit, dwelling on it will inhibit our being fully present to the current point, and diminish our ability to be successful.

This is also true in life, but not necessarily as evident. I met a woman once who had lent a large sum of money decades earlier that had never been repaid. From that point forward she had lived in lack, barely having enough money to meet her needs, lamenting that if the money she had lent had been repaid she would be doing great financially. Perhaps that is true, but what would happen if she focused her energies on manifesting prosperity in the present moment, rather having so much of her attention and energy on a past event?

Many of us have had experiences like this where we forget the truth in Holmes’ quote that principle is not bound by precedent. It’s okay because once we become aware that we have been focusing on a past event or a previous concept of who we are, we can choose in this moment to embrace a new concept. We can decide to accept a larger idea of who we are, what we can have and be, and what we choose to create now. Thus we are fully living now and likely energized by our expanded sense of possibilities.

What idea do you choose to let go of because it no longer represents your fullest expression in this moment? What do you choose to replace it with?

I know that some great good is wanting to burst forth in your life right now in this moment.

Enjoy the journey.

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